Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
NATALIE
Sunday dinner at the Guardian Peak lodge is chaos in the best possible way.
Vivian commandeers the massive kitchen, directing traffic like a general while her lasagna bubbles in the oven.
Sadie bounces between helping and hindering, her constant chatter filling every gap in conversation.
The men drift in and out, stealing bites of garlic bread and getting their hands slapped for it.
I'm standing at the counter chopping vegetables for the salad, trying to wrap my head around how I ended up here.
Two weeks ago, I was sleeping in my car, rationing gas station snacks, checking over my shoulder every thirty seconds.
Now I'm in a warm kitchen surrounded by people who act like I belong, wearing borrowed clothes that smell like the man who's currently arguing with Deck about proper steak seasoning.
"You're doing it again." Vivian appears at my elbow, her belly bumping against the counter as she reaches for the olive oil.
"Doing what?"
"That thing where you look around like you're waiting for someone to tell you it's all a dream." She bumps my shoulder with hers. "It's not a dream, Natalie. This is just what life looks like when you're surrounded by good people."
I focus on the tomato I'm dicing. "I'm not used to it."
"I know." Her voice softens. "When I first came here, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. For Deck to turn out to be like every other man who'd let me down. It took me a while to believe he was real."
"How'd you finally believe it?"
She's quiet for a moment, watching Deck through the kitchen window where he's manning the grill on the back patio. He says something to Cade, and both men laugh, the sound drifting in through the open door.
"He got shot protecting me," Vivian says finally. "Took a bullet to the shoulder." She shakes her head, a smile playing at her lips. "Hard to doubt a man after that."
"That's... extreme."
"These men are extreme." She turns back to me, her dark eyes warm. "They don't do anything halfway. When they decide you're theirs, that's it. They'll burn down the world to keep you safe."
I think about the way Cade held me last night. The way he woke up twice to check the locks, even though we're miles from anywhere. The way he looked at me this morning over coffee, like I was the most precious thing he'd ever seen.
"I'm scared," I admit quietly. "Not of him. Of how much I'm starting to feel. It's too fast."
"There's no timeline for falling in love, Natalie." Vivian squeezes my arm. "Trust me. I tried to fight it too. All it did was make us both miserable."
Before I can respond, Sadie bursts through the back door with Wolfe trailing behind her like a very large, very silent shadow.
"The steaks are almost ready! Vivian, please tell me the garlic bread is done because I'm literally dying of hunger."
"You had three appetizers," Wolfe says. His voice is low and rough, like he doesn't use it often.
"That was an hour ago! I'm a growing girl."
"You're five foot four."
"Horizontally growing. In my stomach region." Sadie pats her flat belly and grins at him. "Feed me, mountain man."
The look Wolfe gives her would be terrifying if it weren't so obviously full of adoration. He crosses to the bread basket without a word and hands her a piece.
"See?" Sadie takes a huge bite. "He loves me."
"Never said I didn't." Wolfe's eyes don't leave her face as she chews.
The domesticity of it makes my chest ache. Two people who clearly adore each other, comfortable in their banter, secure in their relationship. It's everything I never had with Kevin.
Cade appears in the doorway, a platter of steaks in his hands. His eyes find mine immediately, like he can't help it, like I'm a magnet he's drawn to.
"Salad ready?"
"Almost." I gesture at the bowl. "Just need to add the dressing."
He sets down the platter and crosses to me, his hand finding the small of my back. The touch is casual, possessive in a way that doesn't feel threatening. Just... claimed.
"You okay?" he asks quietly.
"Yeah." I lean into him slightly. "Just taking it all in."
"Lot to take in."
"In a good way."
His smile is small but genuine. "Good."
Dinner is loud and messy and wonderful. Everyone talks over each other, passing dishes back and forth, sharing stories about missions and mishaps and embarrassing moments.
I learn that Mace once accidentally set his beard on fire during a training exercise.
That Wolfe can track a person through solid rock if he has to.
That Deck proposed to Vivian while literally bleeding out on a cabin floor.
"He was delirious," Vivian says, rolling her eyes. "I thought he was hallucinating."
"I knew exactly what I was doing." Deck's arm tightens around her shoulders. "Couldn't let you get away."
"You couldn't even stand up."
"Didn't need to stand to know I wanted to marry you."
The table erupts in groans and laughter. Deck looks entirely unrepentant.
"They're always like this," Cade murmurs in my ear. "Disgusting."
"I think it's sweet."
"You would." But he's smiling, and his hand finds mine under the table.
After dinner, Vivian produces a massive tiramisu that she swears she didn't make from scratch but definitely did. I'm three bites in when Sadie corners me on the couch.
"So." She tucks her feet under her, angling her body toward mine. "How are things going with Cade? And by things, I mean sex things. Specifically."
I choke on my tiramisu.
"Sadie." Vivian's voice carries a warning from across the room.
"What? I'm just asking! It's called female bonding, Viv. We share details. It's what women do."
"Some women," Vivian corrects. "Other women respect privacy."
"Privacy is boring." Sadie turns back to me with expectant eyes. "Come on. Just give me a rating. Scale of one to ten."
My face is on fire. Across the room, Cade is watching us with a mixture of amusement and concern. He raises an eyebrow in question.
"I'm fine," I mouth at him.
"She's fine!" Sadie calls out. "We're bonding! Go away!"
Cade shakes his head but turns back to his conversation with Mace.
"You don't have to answer," I tell Sadie. "I know you're just being..."
"Nosy? Inappropriate? Wildly invested in the love lives of everyone around me?
" Sadie grins. "Guilty on all counts. But also genuinely curious.
Cade's been alone for as long as I've known him.
And now he looks at you like..." She pauses, searching for words.
"Like he finally found the thing he didn't know he was looking for. "
The description hits me somewhere soft.
"It's complicated," I say finally.
"Love usually is."
"I didn't say love."
Sadie's grin turns knowing. "You didn't have to."
Before I can protest, Wolfe materializes behind the couch like a ghost. "Time to go."
"Already?" Sadie pouts up at him. "But I was just getting to the good part."
"You were interrogating her."
"Friendly interrogation never hurts."
Wolfe's expression doesn't change, but Sadie sighs dramatically and unfolds herself from the couch.
"Fine. But we're continuing this conversation later, Natalie. I have questions."
"I'm sure you do."
Sadie hugs me goodbye, surprisingly tight for someone so small. "I'm glad you're here," she whispers. "He deserves to be happy."
Then she's gone, Wolfe's hand on her back as he guides her toward the door.
The party breaks up slowly after that. Mace helps Vivian with the dishes. Deck walks the perimeter one final time, a habit Vivian tells me he can't break. Cade and I end up on the back patio, looking out at the mountains in the fading light.
"They're a lot," he says. "I know."
"They're wonderful."
"Yeah." He wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me against his side. "They are."
We stand there in comfortable silence, watching the stars emerge one by one. The air is cool but not cold, carrying the scent of pine and woodsmoke. Somewhere in the distance, an owl calls.
"I could get used to this," I say quietly.
Cade's arm tightens. "I hope you do."
We're heading back to the truck when Deck catches up to us in the parking area. His expression is more serious than it's been all night.
"Got a minute?"
Cade's body tenses beside me. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing immediate." Deck glances at me, then back to Cade. "Mace has been doing some digging. On the husband."
My stomach drops. The warm glow of the evening evaporates in an instant.
"What did he find?" Cade's voice has gone flat. Dangerous.
"He's looking for her." Deck's eyes meet mine, direct and unflinching. "Hired a private investigator. They traced the car she abandoned to a town about fifty miles from here."
The world tilts slightly. I grab Cade's arm to steady myself.
"That was over a week ago," I manage. "He could be anywhere by now."
"He could be." Deck nods. "But he's not. Mace tracked the PI's movements. They're still searching in the wrong direction, working their way toward the Utah border. They haven't made it here yet."
"Yet." The word comes out bitter.
"Yet," Deck agrees. "Which is why we need to talk about next steps."
Cade's hand finds the small of my back, warm and steady. "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking we get ahead of this. Set up additional security at your cabin.
Add it to the regular patrol rotation. Make sure everyone knows her face and his.
" Deck's jaw tightens. "And I'm thinking we start putting together a file on this asshole.
Everything we can find. So when he does show up, and he will show up, we're ready. "
"You think he'll actually come here?" I ask. My voice sounds strange. Detached.
"Men like him don't give up." Deck's tone is matter of fact. "They escalate. He's already hired professionals to track you, which means he has money and motivation. Eventually, the trail will lead here."
"Then what?"
Deck's smile is cold. "Then he meets us."
The drive back to Cade's cabin is quiet. My mind is spinning, processing, trying to reconcile the perfect evening with the news that Kevin is actively hunting me.
Of course he is. What did I expect? That he'd just let me go? That he'd move on and find someone else to control?
Kevin doesn't let go. Kevin doesn't give up. Kevin holds on until there's nothing left to hold.
"Hey." Cade's voice cuts through my spiral. "Talk to me."
"I don't know what to say."
"Then just think out loud. I can take it."
I stare out the window at the dark trees rushing past. "I thought I had more time. I thought... I don't know what I thought. That maybe he'd given up. That I'd finally gotten far enough away."
"You did get away. You're here."
"For now." The words taste like ash. "Until he finds me. Until he shows up and ruins everything, just like he always does."
Cade pulls the truck onto the shoulder and kills the engine. The sudden silence is deafening.
"Look at me."
I turn. In the dim light from the dashboard, his face is all shadows and angles. His jaw is set, his eyes intense.
"He's not going to ruin anything." Each word is deliberate. Certain. "Because he's not going to get to you. Not through me. Not through my team. Not through this town."
"You can't promise that."
"I can." He reaches over and cups my face in his hands. "I've spent ten years watching people I care about get hurt because I wasn't fast enough, wasn't strong enough, wasn't prepared enough. I'm not making that mistake again. Not with you."
"Cade..."
"I know it's fast. I know we barely know each other.
I know there are a hundred reasons why this is crazy.
" His thumb strokes my cheekbone. "But I also know that when you walked into my life, something woke up inside me.
Something I thought was dead. And I'm not letting some abusive piece of shit take that away from either of us. "
Tears burn my eyes. I blink them back.
"What if he hurts you? What if he hurts your friends? I couldn't live with myself if..."
"Then don't." He cuts me off gently. "Don't play that game. Don't imagine every worst case scenario and torture yourself with it. We deal with what's in front of us, when it's in front of us. That's how we survive."
"Is that a military thing?"
"It's a staying sane thing." A ghost of a smile crosses his face. "Learned it in therapy, actually. The hard way."
I let out a shaky laugh. "You went to therapy?"
"Three years of it. Deck made it a condition of joining Guardian Peak." He shrugs. "Best thing I ever did. Doesn't mean I'm fixed. Just means I have better tools for dealing with the broken parts."
I study his face in the dim light. This man who found me bleeding in his woods. Who treated my wounds and fed me breakfast and made love to me like I was precious. Who's sitting here now, promising to protect me from the monster I married.
"I'm falling for you," I whisper. "And it terrifies me."
"Good." He leans forward and presses his forehead to mine. "Because I'm already there. And the only thing that terrifies me is the thought of losing you before I get the chance to show you what this could be."
I close my eyes. Breathe him in. Pine and herbs and safety.
"Okay," I say finally.
"Okay?"
"Okay. We deal with what's in front of us. Together."
His kiss is soft, sweet and full of promise.
When we finally get back to the cabin, the dogs are waiting at the door, tails wagging. Luna immediately attaches herself to my ankle. Bear sniffs me thoroughly, as if checking for injuries. Moose yawns and goes back to his bed.
"Home sweet home," Cade says, locking the door behind us.
Home.
The word doesn't scare me anymore.
We fall asleep tangled together, his arm heavy across my waist, his breath warm against my hair. The dogs settle around us like a furry security system.
And when the nightmares come, as they always do when Kevin gets close, Cade is there to hold me through them.
For the first time in years, I don't have to face the darkness alone.